Susan Maakestad was a recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship from Arts Midwest in 1988. She has been a fellow at the MacDowell Colony and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. Her work has been included in the national publication New American Paintings and The Painting Center in New York’s online Art File. Her watercolors are included in The Drawing Center in New York’s on line Viewing Program. Her work has been exhibited nationally, including at Groveland Gallery in Minneapolis; Sazama Gallery, Chicago; Steinway Gallery, Chapel Hill; and The Rockford Art Museum in Rockford, Ill. Public collections include the Tennessee State Museum, the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art and the City of Memphis. She is currently represented by The Rymer Gallery in Nashville.

Susan Maakestad is Professor of Art at Memphis College of Art where she has taught since 1997. She earned her M.F.A. in painting from The University of Iowa in 1987 and a B.A. magna cum laude and M.A. from Central Washington University in Ellensburg, Wash.